A drink driver was ‘absolutely leathered’ when he crashed into a wall before colliding with an oncoming vehicle, a court heard.
Christopher Totney, 44, of Rydal Road, Ambleside, was returning from a festival in Bowness after consuming three large glasses of wine and a bottle of wine in his vehicle when the crash occurred.
Prosecutor Glenn Anderton said police were called to reports of a road traffic collision on the A591 at Troutbeck Bridge near White Cross Bay on the evening of October 29.
“The other driver was travelling in the opposite direction when he noticed a Volkswagen Golf Estate failing to negotiate a right-hand bend,” Mr Anderton said.
“He had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision.
“The defendant collided with a wall at the side of the road and then hit the rear passenger side of [the other driver's] vehicle.
“He went to check the health of the driver and noticed the defendant’s airbags had gone off. The defendant was trying to get out of his vehicle but could not due to the amount of damage.
“He could tell he was drunk because he smelt of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and urinated against a nearby wall.”
The court heard police recovered a bottle of wine from the footwell of the defendant’s vehicle. An officer said in his statement the defendant was ‘absolutely leathered’, could not stand and ‘could barely speak.’
Totney told officers he had consumed four drinks.
He was arrested after providing a positive roadside breathalyser test and taken to hospital for a conduct check. He was then transferred to custody where he provided a sample for analysis.
Mr Anderton said the lowest reading was 93 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.
In police interview, Totney conceded he was driving home from a festival in Bowness having drank three large glasses of wine at the event and a bottle of wine in the car.
He told officers he thought he had blacked out. He added he was struggling with alcohol dependency and that he was seeking help.
The court heard Totney had a previous drink driving offence 11 years ago.
Magistrates opted to adjourn the sentencing exercise in order for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
Totney will next appear in court for sentence on December 11.
He was made the subject of an interim disqualification and granted unconditional bail.
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